The present invention relates to an elevated or raised access floor construction which is erected on an existing building floor to provide underfloor space for the accommodation of electrical and other services and for the distribution of such services to any position beneath the floor. More particularly, the invention is concerned with the provision of service outlets for an access floor and a novel arrangement of said outlets in which the latter are mounted at desired locations or workstations above floor level and cables or leads from the service outlets extend through the access floor for connection to junction boxes or other connection devices located in the underfloor space.
The installation and connection of electrical supplies, telecommunications and other services is specialist work. The codes of practice for such installations are set by professional institutions or governmental bodies and, with regard to raised office access floors, specify that no electrical appliances, for example, shall be connected to the electrical supply without a visible means of isolation. Also, regulations in relation to telecommunications wiring requires that this be shielded from any electrical cables to avoid interference. The same applies to computer wiring and other data transmission systems.
Typically, a raised access floor is constructed from rectangular or square panels supported, at least at their corners, on pedestals located on an existing building or subfloor. The panels may be made from timber or metal and can be lifted to provide the required access. With such access floors, the principle method of meeting the requirement for visible isolation outlets has been to provide outlet sockets at floor level in boxes set into the floor panels. Each service outlet box may, for example, contain electrical sockets wired through the underfloor space into the main electrical supply for the building. When the access floor is installed, a suitable number of service outlet boxes is distributed throughout the floor area. If the positioning of these boxes does not, at any time, coincide with the requirements of the occupants, then they are either left in position and unused, which can be unsightly and risk being a hazard in a carpeted office floor, or the panels containing the boxes are moved to different positions where they are convenient for use. Although moving the panels is not a major operation, this may not readily be performed by the occupants and will necessitate the presence of a qualified engineer for disconnecting and reconnecting the services. Hence, the present system of service outlets is relatively expensive, lacks flexibility and can leave unused outlet boxes in unsightly and potentially hazardous positions.